48 MACWORLD SEPTEMBER 2020
iOSCENTRAL HOW TO SET UP FAMILY SHARINGFamily
members
you invite
get a
special
iMessage,
and must
tap on it
and then
choose
Join
Family.- Open System Preferences (if it’s not
in your Dock, look in the Apple menu on
the menu bar). - Click Family Sharing in the upper
right of the System Preferences window. - You’ll be asked to confirm your
Apple ID and then prompted for family
members to invite.
ADDING FAMILY MEMBERS
You don’t need to add all your family
members right when you first set up Family
Sharing. You can add or remove members
at any time, up to five members (plus the
Organizer).
On iPhone or iPad, open Settings and
tap on your Apple ID, then choose Family
Sharing. Tap Add Family Member and then
enter their name or email address.
On the Mac, open System Preferences
and then click on Family Sharing. Make
sure Family is selected in the left sidebar,
and choose Add Family Member.
Family members you add will get an
iMessage inviting them to the Family. They
must tap on it and opt to join before Family
Sharing will work for them—many people
miss this step!CHOOSING WHICH FEATURES
TO SHARE
Once you have added family members,
you should choose which features you
want to share. The current options are as
follows:
Purchase Sharing: Media you buy on
iTunes, Books, and most App Store
purchases (but not in-app purchases!).
iCloud Storage: If you have the 200GB
or 2TB storage plan, you can share it with
your family.
Location Sharing: Family members
share location or the location of their
devices. You can always just share location
to an individual in the Find My app (go.
macworld.com/fdmy).
Screen Time: If you have a Child
account in your family, you can set screen
limits and view reports for it.
Apple Music: You need a family plan
on Apple Music to share with your family (it
costs $15 per month, rather than $10 for an
individual account).